Monday, July 18, 2011

Regaining Your Creative Spark

I addressed the same topic in my book, "Write Great Resumes Faster."
Sometimes you just get stuck when you're writing a resume. You can't figure out how to start -- or you start, and you can't finish. While the book gives you some specific strategies for helping you write resumes, Mackay gives you some more general creativity builders.

His suggestions:

Be aware of what's going on around you. Stay on top of trends. Learn from other people's ideas and mistakes.

Rely on your instincts. As you assimilate the information around you and assess the possibilities, factor in your instincts to come up with creative solutions.

Stick with it. You need to be persistent if you want to achieve anything significant. Keep a detailed picture of the intended result in your mind to hep you stay focused and move forward.

Be patient. You can't hurry creativity, so take time to ponder your ideas. Sit back and take time to think things over. That's usually how the best ideas bloom.

Evaluate the results. At the end of the process, ask yourself: Has my vision been realized? Learn from what works and what fails, so you can move on to your next project.

Creativity isn't just a process. It's a value. If you value success, get creative!

Creativity can be your best asset when you're feeling it -- and it can be your biggest enemy when you're struggling. Use Mackay's tips -- and the strategies in Write Great Resumes Faster (including Quick Reference Guides to action verbs, personality traits, profile descriptions, section headers, keywords and more)k0 -- to stay on track!